Friends? Or More?
by evgrrl09
Summary: When Morgan panics at a woman's offer, he poses Garcia as his girlfriend. Is it platonic, or are his actions trying to say how he really feels about his best friend? M/G as well as JJ/Hotch
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Here's my newest story! This one is significantly lighter than my previous two stories, so it won't be much of a tear jerker :) Please let me know your thoughts!**

"You should just ask her to dance," Rossi said with a crooked smirk and a sip of his scotch. He and organ were sitting at the wedding party table, watching as Hotch and JJ shared their first dance together as husband and wife. It was mostly just Rossi watching the happily married couple though; Morgan was too busy staring hatefully at the man who was dancing with Penelope Garcia. The look he was casting Sean Hotchner was one that might've ignited a lesser man – say, Kevin Lynch – on fire.

"Ask who to dance?" Morgan grunted, taking another, gruffer sip of his beer. His gaze still hadn't moved from Sean and Penelope. The two were laughing, Garcia's head thrown back in a giggle. Rossi glanced over at him with an amused gleam in his obsidian eyes. The usually suave younger man didn't even realize he was sitting with an expression on his face that may wither the brightly colored centerpieces JJ had designed herself. Snickering, he took another swig of his liquor. With a thunderous expression, Morgan whirled to face him. "What's your problem, Rossi?" he demanded with a scowl.

"How long are you going to wait for something to come to you that you have to reach out and take?" Rossi asked simply, meeting Morgan's gaze evenly. They stared at one another for a long moment before Rossi rose from his seat with empty glass in hand and started to walk away towards the open bar.

"What the hell are you talking about?" he snapped at the Italian's retreating back. "Rossi, man!" He was completely ignored. Cursing, he put his bottle back down on the table and rubbed his face. He had no idea what Rossi had been talking about. Grumbling about how Italians were all bastards, he finished off his drink and got up to get another.

XXXXX

Derek watched as Penelope walked off the dance floor with Sean and he led her over to bar. Scowling at Hotch's younger brother, Derek flagged the bar tender down and ordered another beer. He knew he should've been feeling more joyful, seeing as it was a wedding he was at, but instead he was just pissed off at the fact that Sean was hanging around Penelope. So maybe he had known what Rossi was talking about, but it wouldn't do him any good to spill his feelings. Penelope always seemed to go for someone other than him. It didn't particularly help to sit around and talk about it with anyone.

"Hot Stuff!"

He looked behind him at Penelope and forced a grin. She was wearing her soft baby blue bridesmaid dress and her hair was down in its natural waves. A brilliant grin was lighting up her face and she looked at Derek with a silly face. There was a slight coloration to her cheeks from the heat in the room and from the dancing she'd just been doing with Sean, making her face look pink. Both her brown eyes were glittering. To him, she'd never looked more beautiful.

"Hey, Baby Girl," he said. "You were looking good out there." He notably ignored Sean.

She winked at him. "Thank you, Baby Boy," she purred. "You're not looking so bad yourself." Nodding her head at his beer, she added, "How many of those have you had?"

Leaning closer to her to look her directly in the eye, he said with a devilish grin, "Not enough for you to worry your gorgeous head about." Then he planted a kiss on her lips softly.

Her eyes were wide for a moment, like she couldn't believe what had just happened. All he did was smile and take another mouthful of beer.

XXXXX

Penelope stared open-mouthed at her best friend who had just kissed her. She wasn't convinced immediately that he'd even done it, but the tingling that was there told her it wasn't all in her imagination. Shaking her head to clear her now foggy brain, she tried to say something, but couldn't. Words were escaping her. And the shameless smile on his face was causing even more questions to whirl through her brain.

"What was that for?" she asked in confusion.

As he opened his mouth to speak again, someone came up behind him and said, "Well, well, who are _you_?" Coughing on his beer, Derek turned around to see a bottle blonde with obvious implants smiling at him like a cat that had caught its prey. She stuck out her French-manicured hand to shake his. "I'm Sarah, a friend of JJ's from her hometown."

"Er, Derek," he stuttered. "Derek Morgan." A look of panic covered his face. He very clearly didn't want to be around the woman with the predatory glance in her blue eyes. It was very clear she wanted into his pants.

She smirked coyly. "You look like a man who knows his way around," she said.

Penelope couldn't help but gawk at this floozy who was blatantly throwing herself down in front of Derek, legs practically spread already. A shot of jealousy raced up her spine and she couldn't stop her hands from clenching into fists. Who did this bitch think she was? What made her think she could just throw herself at Derek?

Scratching behind his ear, Derek nodded. "Well, yeah," he said. "I guess I know my way around. I don't need a GPS or anything, so…"

Sarah laughed like it was the funniest thing she'd ever heard. Tilting her head to the side, she said, "And you have a sense of humor. That's wonderful!"

"Ah…" Derek began.

"Would you maybe like to dance?" she asked pointedly with a huge smile covering her face.

The look on Sarah's face was so frightening Derek felt his skin crawl. She looked like an unsub ready to devour her next meal. A light bulb went off in his head the next moment. Grinning, Derek shook his head. "Nope," he said. "I actually saved this next dance…for my beautiful, witty girlfriend." It was satisfying to witness the falling of the creep woman's face.

And then he pulled Penelope by the waist towards him. "And here's the lovely lady who has my heart."


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Thank you all very much for your kind reviews! They're what keep me going. I also must apologize for the delay on this being released…Prom was this weekend and I was occupied for all of Saturday.**

**Also, this is just a little side note, unrelated to this fic…currently I have gotten into the swing of putting up my original stories on a website called Young Writers' Society. If any of you are interested in checking out some of my original works, you can find me there under MadameLuxestrange. Thanks for listening and now on with the story!**

Penelope had to fight hard not to burst out laughing when Derek put his arm around her waist and called her his girlfriend. Teasing her was one thing, but to pull her towards him and say they were in a relationship together was somewhat crossing the line between them that had been drawn all those years ago. But the look he was giving Sarah, a look of complete and utter sincerity, made her balk a moment.

Her mouth almost dropped to the floor.

He was being completely, one hundred percent serious.

Derek shot her a look that begged her to play along. Forcing a smile, she leaned against his broad chest and wrapped an arm around his waist. "Aw, Hot Stuff!" she cooed, feeling tense all the sudden. "Be still my heart."

The look on Sarah's face was highly amusing to Penelope. She looked absolutely shocked at Derek's announcement. Pointing one of her witch talons at Penelope in disbelief, Sarah stuttered, "_This_ is your girlfriend?" She gave Penelope a once over and looked at Derek in pure disbelief.

Nodding, Derek looked at Penelope and tilted her chin up to look at him more closely. There was a clever twinkle in his eyes and he dipped down to kiss her.

This kiss was nothing like the small brush of his lips he'd just bestowed on her. This kiss was something much more powerful, more demanding. Kissing Derek Morgan was like nothing she'd ever experienced. She'd kissed many men in her life, but no man quite compared to this. His lips were soft and firm at the same time and he tasted minty and earthy. The fact that this had come unexpectedly made it all the more powerful. And it felt _good_. When he pulled away, she almost let out a cry of protest. But then she realized it had been a fake kiss and she remained settled.

That couldn't stop the tingling she felt all over her body though.

Sarah was openly gaping at them now. "Oh," she stuttered. "Well, I see that I was mistaken." Smiling tightly, she added, "I'll leave the two of you…lovebirds alone." Once she was gone, Penelope grabbed Derek's hand and dragged him away from the bar towards a secluded corner where she proceeded to shove him in the chest.

"What the hell did you do that for?" she demanded, poking him with her index finger. "What on earth possessed you to call _me_, your best friend, your _girlfriend_? Are you on drugs?"

Smirking at her, he said, "What's the big deal, Baby Girl? It was just a little white lie."

"One that involved me!" she exclaimed. She didn't tell him that deep down it was the best kiss of her life and all she wanted was to let him take her up against a wall. "Derek, I can't believe you put me in this position! What if someone saw and they start asking questions?"

"Baby Girl, what's the worst that could happen?" he asked, still smirking. Grabbing her waist, he pulled her towards him until their hips were meshed together. Locking her there so she couldn't move, he added, "It was just one little kiss. What's wrong with that?"

She gaped at him. "How can you think that there's _nothing_ wrong with that?" she stuttered.

"C'mon Baby Girl," he argued. "It worked, didn't it?"

Huffing, she said, "How is that little display you just made out of me alright? What's next? A booty call at two am when a girl says she wants you to come home with her from a bar?"

He laughed. "No you silly girl," he said.

"Derek!" she scolded. "This is serious!" She tried to move again, but he pushed her up against the wall.

"And so am I, Baby Girl," he laughed. "That was a great performance out there. We've got chemistry. Everyone can see it. I just acted on it." He grinned.

His face got closer to hers and her breath hitched in her throat. The minty scent of his breath against her face was making her salivate and she wanted nothing more than to devour him all over again. But internally she shook her head. Derek was just teasing her. Teasing her like he always did. Kissing him again would only bring her more agony over the love she had for her best friend.

"Derek Morgan, how could my son not tell his own mother that he was dating someone so wonderful?"

Penelope noticed the color of Derek's face go slightly ashen. Looking over his shoulder, she noticed why. The voice that had spoken was the voice of his mother, Fran Morgan. She had noticed them in the corner and made her way over to see them. Flashing Derek a look, she hissed, "You're in deep shit now, Derek Morgan."

Fran reached them and smiled brilliantly at Penelope. "Penelope, dear! I'm so happy Derek finally got the courage to ask you out on a date! He has never said anything, but I always knew someday he might ask you out on a date."

Her smile was so infectious Penelope couldn't help but smile back. "Hi Mrs. Morgan!" she sang. "It's so wonderful to see you again! I was hoping to see you when you got in yesterday, but I had – a thing I was doing."

"Please dear, call me Fran," she said, pulling Penelope in for a hug. "You were family already, but now you're officially my daughter…seeing as you're dating Derek."

Putting up his finger, Derek said, "Er, Mom? Penelope –"

Interrupting him, Fran slapped the back of his head. "And you! Why did you tell me you were dating your Baby Girl? I thought I raised you better than that." Behind her eyes though it was fairly clear she was amused. "Can I expect some grandbabies now?"

A fierce blush crept up Penelope's face. She didn't quite know how to react to Fran's request. "Ah, not quite yet," she said. "Maybe someday though."

Fran beamed. "That would be wonderful!"

Before she could say anything else, another song – a sexy Latin beat – came on and Derek grabbed Penelope's hand. "Well, Mom," he said, squeezing Penelope's hand, "I would love to chat more with you, but this just so happens to be a song my girl and I _love_. Can we catch up later?"

Shaking her head, Fran said, "Oh yes! I would love to talk to both of you later on. Go dance you two! Later on Penelope, I want to talk to you about Derek's forty fifth birthday that's coming up this year. I've got an idea to run by you."

Penelope tried to nod her head vigorously – she loved planning parties! – but Derek was already dragging her towards the dance floor where JJ and Hotch were already dancing happily to the sexy salsa beat along with many others of their wedding guest list.

"_Derek_!" she hissed frantically as he got her hips to move along with his. "I can't dance! You know that."

"Why don't you just follow me and let me teach you?" he asked against her ear. They moved along to the music and after a few awkward steps, the two of them began to move in sync with each other. The movements they made across the dance floor were as one. Looking at her face of shock, he laughed, "See? If you accepted any of my dance proposals before, you'd see you dance fine…beautifully, actually."

Still fuming, she grumbled, "You suck, Morgan."

"How blunt of you," he said in amusement.

"I'm serious! How could you put me in this position? Now we're lying to your mother! That's not cool. I love your mom…lying to her isn't what I want to do. It's wrong. And I don't –" He cut her off by plastering a kiss to her lips. Their tongues clashed together and the taste of him overwhelmed her senses. It couldn't be helped; she responded to his kiss with trembling lips. A soft moan escaped her lips, inaudible to everyone but him and her arms tightened around his neck. He tasted even better the second time around. It felt so wonderful. The moment he pulled back and looked at her with twinkling eyes and a silly, crooked smile, she allowed herself to lose her tense muscles and say, "Okay…I don't feel so bad about it right now."

And then she moved her hands to grab his face and pull it back to hers.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Ding ding, round three! Thank you everyone for the reviews…let's hope you like this one too :)**

"PG, why didn't you tell us you were dating Morgan?" Emily demanded at work the Monday after the wedding. JJ and Hotch were on their honeymoon in Cancun and the bullpen was quiet for the time being. Penelope was currently sitting in her office, knitting a scarf for Henry who was currently with his grandmother since Will had died from a gunshot wound at a hostage situation.

Rubbing her temples after putting her knitting down, Penelope groaned. "I don't really want to talk about this right now," she said, rising from her seat and grabbing her coffee mug. She started for the door, but she was blocked by Emily. "I need caffeine, Em. Really, really bad."

"But you have to spill!" Emily whined. "I need to know more about your boyfriend!"

She rolled her eyes. "Please, you already know him," she said bluntly. "You don't need the 'inside scoop' as you would call it." As she side-stepped around Emily, the door to her office opened and before her stood Derek Morgan himself. In his hand he held two cups of coffee that were steaming. She stared at him with wide eyes. It was as if he had read her mind.

Turning around, she glared at Emily's smirk. "Well, I'll take off," she said, starting to the door and shutting it behind her. Returning to her desk without looking at him, she sat back down before the cup of coffee was set down next to her keyboard. Then her chair was spun around to face him and he was grinning.

"How's my beautiful girlfriend today?" he asked as if he were asking the most normal question in the whole world.

"Morgan," she said quietly. "We are behind closed doors. There's no need to –"

His lips descended on hers and he kissed her fiercely. She sighed against his lips and grasped his shirt collar. If he was going to keep doing this, she might as well enjoy the ride. Pulling away after a few moments of his wonderful kissing, she murmured, "You are one amazing kisser."

"Right back atcha, Baby Girl," he said pleasantly.

Cocking her head to the side, she asked, "But why are you kissing me when no one's looking? I mean, your mom is still staying for another week and we'll have to keep up appearances with her, but why are you kissing me?"

"I'm kissing you because…" For a moment Derek was tempted to tell her that he'd always wanted to kiss her. That he was irrevocably in love with her, but unfortunately he knew she would just gawk at him and laugh. She wasn't in love with him; not the way he was in love with her anyway. So instead, he decided to lie. "We need to keep up appearances and keep our passion fresh. We'll need to look authentic. And you know what they say…practice makes perfect."

XXXXX

Penelope heart had sunk after the words Derek had spoken to her. At first she had thought he would tell her he was in love with her, the same way she was in love with him. But the look of hunger had disappeared almost as quickly as it had appeared. So she played along and kissed him for another twenty minutes before he was called in for a meeting.

Now she was sitting in her office, her head tilted back in her seat as she stared at the ceiling. Why did she hope he might love her? She wasn't his type at all. She wasn't anything but his best friend.

As she was bemoaning her ridiculous love life and interests, her cell phone rang and she checked the caller id reluctantly. It was Momma Morgan. Smiling even though she didn't particularly wish to talk to anyone right then, she answered it.

"Fran!" she said with faux happiness. "How are you?"

"Wonderful dear," she said. "I wanted to ask you about Derek's birthday party. Is now an okay time or are you busy?"

"Oh believe me, it's been a slow day around here," she said. "What'd you want to talk about? I know at the wedding you said you had an idea for his party. What was it?"

She could practically hear the smile on Fran's face. "Well, I was thinking of taking him on a trip to somewhere really nice. Spending a long weekend there with you, the team, and his sisters. How does that sound to you?"

"That sounds great Fran!" Penelope said, her spirits brightening because of the idea of planning a party. She loved party planning and was good at it. And planning it for Derek would be amazing because she would put her heart and soul into it. "When do we start planning?"

"Whenever you're ready if that's alright," Fran said.

Opening a new webpage on her computer, Penelope smiled and said, "I'm ready right now."

XXXXX

Derek huffed after he finished his meeting and headed back to his office. As he sat down in his chair, he noticed that it was already six o'clock and time for him to get going home; his mother was cooking dinner for him that night and he was excited to get to spend some time with her. Though he was glad to get to spend time with his mother, his conversation with Penelope from earlier was still plaguing his mind. He couldn't stand to see her face constantly and have her not be in love with him. It was killing him, a slow knife between the ribs that would eventually be the end of him. He'd never loved another woman and he just so happened to be in love with one who didn't reciprocate the feelings.

And now, he wouldn't be able to talk to his mother about it because she thought the two of them were already dating. They would have to figure out some valid excuse for why they broke up after she left.

Maybe half the truth would be possible then; she left him because she was in love with someone else. It was highly possible that may work, but he didn't know for sure. What he did know for sure was his mother would be crushed.

Rising from his chair again, he grabbed his briefcase that contained case files he had to fill out and started for the door. All the way towards the elevator he felt as if he were walking through a haze. A haze clouded by the woman he loved. Once in the elevator, he was joined by Prentiss.

"Morgan!" she said cheerily. "Why did you not tell anyone that you and Garcia were dating? All I can say about that is _finally_!" She shook her head and laughed.

Derek just tensed his jaw. "Er, well," he gulped.

Pressing the emergency stop button on the elevator, Prentiss turned to him and said, "Cut the crap Morgan. I know you're not really dating Penelope. So spill."

His eyes grew wide and he gulped again.

An angry Emily Prentiss was a frightening thing. And he knew she would get an answer out of him whether he liked it or not.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Thank you everyone for the kind reviews and for all the favorites/follows on this story :) I appreciate it! Here's the chat Derek has with Emily…**

_"Cut the crap Morgan. I know you're not really dating Penelope. So spill."_

XXXXX

Derek stared wide-eyed at Emily Prentiss and felt as his forehead started to sweat. "I don't know what you're –"

"Bullshit," she snapped, putting both hands on her hips. "You're the worst liar in the history of the world."

"How am I lying? I don't even have a clue what you're talking about!" He felt his fists clench and unclench and his pulse began to race. There was no way he wanted to be talking about this with Prentiss. Hell, he'd never talked about any of his feelings about Penelope with anyone. It wasn't something he felt he could discuss with anyone. If it were up to him he would bury his feelings where no one would find them. That way they wouldn't be there to hurt him.

"You damn well know what I am talking about!" she hollered, her voice echoing through the small elevator car.

Shaking his head vigorously and putting on his best poker face, he insisted, "No. I really don't."

Prentiss glared at him and if looks could kill he would've been dead on the floor within seconds. Her brown eyes were blazing. "You are so dense sometimes! Both of you are! When it comes to each other, you just seem to lose all the brains you seem to possess on a daily basis. How many years have the two of you been flirting? Far too many! So you need to act on it!" She was breathing heavily from her rant.

He sighed. "Prentiss, really this isn't something –" He cursed and hit his fist against the wall of the elevator. "Dammit, this isn't something I can be thinking about right now!" He scowled at her in anger. "I can't believe you're on to this!"

She smirked. "You better start believing it," she said.

Frustrated, he leaned back against the wall. He wasn't looking for an argument, nor was he looking for some of Prentiss' idea of "friendly" advice. Grumbling, he wiped his face with his hand and said, "Listen Prentiss, you can't breathe a word of any of this to anyone…_especially_ my mother! She'll be heartbroken."

"You're pretending to date Penelope and you're most worried about your _mother's_ feelings?" she asked incredulously. "What about Penelope? What about her feelings?" Her face was furious and Derek could tell that she was truly pissed at him. "You're truly blind, Derek Morgan."

He shook his head in confusion. "Prentiss, what the hell are you talking about?" he asked. "How am I blind? If you haven't noticed, Penelope has been perfectly willing in our little act. I'm not asking her to do anything after my mother leaves. We'll come up with a breakup story and that will be the end of it."

"I'm not talking about appearances!" she cried. "I'm talking about her _feelings_! That girl loves you, Morgan. How can you not see that?" She looked at him with pity and irritation all in one look. When he didn't say anything, she added, "You're honestly not aware of that fact, are you?"

Grinding his jaw together, he said, "Prentiss, there is no way she is love with me. I have no idea where you get that idea, but it's not true. Trust me." An ache filled his heart. He couldn't stop it from bleeding through his body. Penelope didn't love him; he didn't know why Prentiss was trying to insinuate that she might. "I know you're trying to put something there, but she doesn't feel that way about me. She never has and she never will."

Prentiss was almost positive that his face took on a forlorn expression. He was the epitome of a heart broken man. It was obvious to her that he was hurting. What wasn't so obvious was how he couldn't see the absolute love both him and Penelope had for one another.

"You're wrong," she said sadly. "One day you'll see that. But until then, you need to tread carefully because if you don't, both of you are going to get hurt. Really, badly, terribly hurt."

Biting the inside of his cheek, Derek nodded as Prentiss started the elevator up again. "I know," he said grudgingly. "I'm going to fix this at some point. Not today, not tomorrow, but soon."

XXXXX

Penelope sat on her couch with the bottle of tequila next to her and a brightly colored coffee mug that she was drinking from. She had spent most of the day planning Derek's party with Fran on the line and now she was spending her free time on her sofa with her new best friend: booze. Currently she'd emptied a quarter of the bottle and was making her way towards another quarter. Thinking about the possible locations for Derek's party and what gifts to get him and what color scheme to go with was starting to tear her apart on the inside because she couldn't stand to think about him. It hurt too much.

On her coffee table her phone rang and she huffed. "Who the fuck is calling me?" she cursed, leaning forward to the table to pick it up. It was JJ calling her.

At least it was someone she could stand to talk to.

Putting down the mug, she answered the phone with a gleeful voice. "JJ!" she slurred into the phone. "How's the honeymoon?"

JJ laughed. "Ooh, Garcie," she sympathized. "Someone's hitting the bottle it sounds like."

Giggling, she said, "You're avoiding the question about _you_, silly!"

She could hear the smile on JJ's face as she spoke. "We're doing wonderful," she said. "We're going to the beach later again, but I thought I'd call while my hubby is in the shower. I wanted to ask you about your boyfriend…"

Rolling her eyes, Penelope huffed, "Derek is who you want to talk about? Why can't we talk about the weather? Or what the sex after marriage thing is like?"

"Penelope, what's going on?" she asked.

Rubbing her face, Penelope growled, "Jayje, I just want to talk about _you_. I want to know all about your beautiful honeymoon. Please, please tell me about that. I'm not in the mood to talk about Der – my boyfriend." She had to get used to saying that. Derek was right. They had to be authentic, as he called it.

"Okay," JJ said reluctantly. As she started describing her honeymoon, Penelope found herself wishing she was in that faraway place with white beaches and a warm breeze ruffling her hair. That place would be a cure for what she was feeling right then. It would take her away from dealing with Derek and thus take away her pain. For a moment she almost forgot she was listening to JJ.

"That sounds lovely," she said wistfully. "I'm glad you're having a good time, Jayje. You sound so happy."

"I am," JJ said, sounding like a thoroughly happy and satisfied woman. "But why do you sound like you're not?"

Groaning internally, Penelope said, "Beats me."

Her words were true; she really didn't have a clue why she wasn't sounding happy. Maybe it was just the alcohol that was inhibiting her ability to figure it out.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**I must apologize for the delay in this! Life has been getting in the way of my writing time :{ I hope you enjoy this chapter and I would love to hear a review :)**

Penelope's headache the next morning was as bad as a hangover could get. Rubbing her head, she stepped out of bed in nothing but her bra and underwear. Her memories of the night before were lacking. Vaguely she remembered her conversation with JJ about her honeymoon, then finishing another half of the bottle of tequila before stripping to her panties and tumbling to bed asleep.

It was all in all a bad night.

She stumbled into her kitchen to make coffee and while she was pouring water into the machine, a voice behind her sounded.

"Morning Bab –"

She let out a yelp and clasped her arms over her barely-covered breasts. Derek was staring at her with his mouth hanging open, two cups of steaming coffee in his hands. As she was scampering out of the kitchen, she tripped and fell to her knees and let out a curse as her knees hit the hard wood of her floors. She was bound to have bruises very soon.

"You okay?" he asked with a choked voice. Before she could get up herself, he was putting the coffee cups down and kneeling beside her to offer his help. Putting one hand on her shoulder and taking her hand in the other, he pulled her up so she was on her feet.

"Yes, thank you," she stammered as she met his eyes.

For a moment he stared at her wide-eyed and with his mouth slightly agape. Penelope's belly filled with a warmth that made her feel all gushy inside. At first she thought she might've seen desire in his gaze, that he truly wanted her. But as quickly as his eyes filled with unquenchable hunger, he averted them and looked away swiftly. Her heart sank in the process and she sighed internally.

The things she dreamed about.

"I'm going to just go – throw some clothes on and then we can get to work," she said. "By the way, why did you just waltz right in? Every heard of knocking, Hot Stuff?"

Wiping his forehead, he said, "Er, well, I have a key and all, so I figured I'd just come in and…" His voice trailed off and he headed towards the kitchen again without finishing his sentence.

Feeling dejected, she stepped back into her room through the curtain, she started to put her clothing on and get ready for her day at work.

XXXXX

Derek was sitting in his office during the middle of the day while working on a case file for Hotch. He was unable to concentrate on anything. All that was running through his head was the thought of this previous morning when he'd witnessed his Baby Girl in nothing but a matching pair of red lace panties and bra. The image had made him unbearably hard and he'd been forced to excuse himself to the kitchen until she came back in clothes. He couldn't get the image of her out of his head. Her breasts had wiggled when she'd fallen to her knees and even though he'd felt bad that his poor baby had hurt herself, he couldn't help but admit it had been too arousing of a sight not to enjoy.

It took all his energy after that not to take her wherever they were.

Taking another deep breath, he kept working on his papers. As he was scribbling his signature on a sheet of paper, his phone went off and he answered it without bothering to check the caller ID. "Hello?" he answered.

"Derek, I want you to invite your delightful Baby Girl over for dinner tonight," Fran said, not even giving a greeting to her son. "I'm making lasagna."

He laughed. "Hello to you too, Mom," he said. "I don't get even a 'hi'?"

"Oh, sorry honey," she said. "Yes, you can get a 'hi' from me. But right now what I need is for you to get your girlfriend to come to dinner with us. I want to chat with her more."

Sighing, he said, "Momma, don't nag her about grandbabies. We haven't talked about them yet, so leave her be."

"But I've never got to bug any of your girlfriends about giving me grandbabies," she whined, but Derek could hear the smile in her voice. "I just want to know when you two are going to have young little babies. You need to let me know when I can start buying things for the nursery."

"How about I'll call you as soon as we have a 'yes' or 'no' on dinner tonight and then maybe two years from now we can have a conversation related to nurseries?" he suggested.

"Fine then," Fran said, "but I want you to text me the moment you find out if Penelope can come to dinner."

He smiled. "I'll be sure to let you know, Momma," he assured her.

"Okay son. I'll see you later," Fran said before hanging up.

Derek put his phone down on his desk and stared at the ceiling. His conversation with his mother had him thinking. Children and nurseries started the thoughts in his head about Penelope actually being pregnant with his children, with her having her belly distended outwards with a miniature of both their DNAs growing inside her. In his mind it was the most beautiful image he could imagine. He wanted to see _their_ child in her arms when he came home from work. He wanted everything his mother wanted to come true, essentially.

Crossing the t's and dotting his i's, Derek finished his final report and gathered them in his arms to take back to Rossi, who was filling in for Hotch while he was on his honeymoon. From there he would have to ask Penelope to dinner.

He knocked on Rossi's office door and poked his head in. Rossi looked up from his desk and motioned for him to come in. "Morgan? Did you finish working on the files I sent over to you?"

Derek nodded. "All done," he confirmed. "I can start on anything you need me to do next."

"Yes, well unfortunately I don't have anything right now at this exact moment," he said. "I'll have a fax coming in from Strauss that I'll need you to take care of but that's not for another hour or so. You could take your lovely lady friend out to lunch if it pleases you." He looked up at Derek with a smirk on his face. Before Derek could make some retort about how Rossi should but out, he added, "If you were dating Garcia, you should have told Sean Hotchner to back off from her. Pfft, I should've known you were dating her."

Apparently only a woman could see that he was fake dating Penelope.

"Er, yes," Derek said, giving him a hesitant thumbs up. "I was thinking Italian for us."

Rossi snickered. "Damn, I wish I was you and didn't have all this work left behind by our beloved Aaron Hotchner," he said as Derek nodded and headed off in the direction of Penelope's lair.

XXXXX

A knock on Penelope's door snapped her out of her search mode. "Come in," she called, sitting up straighter. When she turned around, the person standing in her doorway was Derek. Her mouth dried up. Ever since her morning when Derek had shown up unannounced and witnessed her in nothing but her underwear, she'd felt somewhat uncomfortable. And she knew Derek hadn't liked what he'd seen. For a split second she thought he might've. She thought she might've seen a glimpse of hunger in his eyes, maybe for a split second. But it had been gone in a flash. He would never want her. She was a fool to think that he might.

Forcing a smile, she said, "Oh, hey!"

Winking, he retrieved her coat from the hangar beside the door and strode over towards her. He offered it to her and she tilted her head in question. "I'm taking you to lunch," he said simply.

"Why?" she squeaked, standing even so.

Grinning cheekily while helping her put her arms into her coat sleeves, he said, "Why not? Baby Girl, we've got some stuff to discuss."

"Oh? What kind of stuff?" she asked.

He kissed her, cupping her cheek softly. His kiss wasn't like any of the other ones they'd shared; he was kissing her gently and filled with feelings she couldn't quite place. Despite being able to read him so well every other day, she was having a hell of time doing it right now. When he pulled backwards again and stared at her shocked face, he said, "Let's go to lunch and we can talk there."

**Next chapter is lunch for the lovebirds :) Please review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Here's chapter six…hope you enjoy! Thank you much for the reviews :) You guys rock my socks off! And I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm pretty pissed about this stuff going on with CBS and their refusal to pay Kirsten Vangsness and AJ Cook equal to their male counterparts…frankly, I don't know if I would watch without the two of them :(**

Penelope and Derek entered the restaurant which had low, almost romantic lighting that made her blush. Why was he taking her _here_? The kiss was strange enough as it was, but this place? It was confusing the hell out of her.

"How many will be joining you today?" the hostess asked in a husky voice as she stared at Derek with "you can come fuck me now" eyes.

With his arm wrapped firmly around Penelope's waist, Derek raised two fingers. "Two please," he said, apparently oblivious to the hostess' attempted advances. Usually he would jump at a chance to chat up a good-looking twig. But he kept his sensual grip on Penelope's waist.

_What the hell is going on with him today?_ she thought to herself.

The now glaring hostess – her name tag read Claudia – lead them to a table where her glare became more focused on Penelope when Derek pulled out her chair for her and planted a kiss on the top of her head.

Now Penelope was thoroughly pissed. This woman had no right to glare at her when she was out with Derek. She would show her. And since Derek was being extra affectionate today, matters would be slightly easier. So she turned up the heat.

Looking at Derek, she batted her eyelashes and cooed, "Aww, thank you Baby…you're such a gentleman."

Through gritted teeth, Claudia said, "Enjoy you _meal_."

She began to stalk away and Derek smirked at Penelope, leaning forward to raise a brow at her. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?" he murmured. "Admit it."

Biting her lip and nodding, she said, "Maybe…" Underneath the table, his leg brushed hers and when she looked at him more closely in the depths of his brown eyes, she saw something strange. There was something beautiful there, like all the love in the world was sitting right there before her. She'd never seen that in any man's eyes. Not Kevin Lynch's, not anyone's. Looking down a moment and blushing, she whispered softly, "Derek, can I ask you a question?"

"Anything, Baby," he said, this time wrapping his ankle around hers.

Still feeling the heat in her cheeks, she got the courage to look up again and at him. "Why are you doing this?" Seeing his look of confusion, she clarified. "What I mean is, why are you acting so…boyfriendy? The hand holding, playing footsie…" Her voice trailed off before she added in a softer voice, "The kissing." His face was still blank and she said, "There's no one around to fool…your mom isn't here. You don't have to pretend."

An uncomfortable, almost irritated look crossed his face. "You really don't see it, do you?" he asked incredulously.

She shook her head. "See what?" she asked as a waiter came around with a pitcher of ice water to pour into their empty glasses on the table. When he went off again without saying a word, she studied her best friend more closely. He was still staring at her with what appeared to be disbelief. "Hot Stuff, don't keep me guessing all day…what are you talking about?"

Rising from his seat without even touching the glass of water, Derek shook his head before heading away from the table. "You know Garcia, I need to go," he said abruptly. "I'll see you back at work." Then he was gone, leaving her completely confused.

It wasn't until he was out the door of the restaurant and walking down the street that she understood. He was trying to tell her something. He was trying to tell her how he really felt. Derek Morgan was in love with her. He wanted to be her boyfriend. All their years of friendship, all the years that she'd been in love with him, hoping he would notice it and he'd felt the same way all along?

It was high time she told him how she felt about him as well. Getting up from her chair, she too sprinted from the restaurant in hopes of finding Derek before he got too far away.

XXXXX

Derek truly didn't know what to think of what Penelope had said. He'd thought he was doing so well that day. He was trying to make her see how much he loved her and how serious he was about everything. But she was blowing it all off like she really didn't see it. If she didn't realize that, did she know him at all?

Shoving his hands in his pocket, he continued down the street, grouchy now that he realized Penelope would never want him.

"Derek!"

He heard the clicking of a pair of high heels that were very clearly rushing after him. But he wouldn't turn around. He was going to pretend that he didn't hear her. He couldn't handle the idea of her breaking his heart again. But the sound only increased as he kept going until it disappeared altogether. For a moment he thought he'd lost her, but that idea was crushed when a pair of arms wrapped around him from behind and he stopped. The reason he hadn't heard her was because she'd removed her shoes and was holding them by the heel.

"Derek, stop!" she begged, holding him tighter.

He rolled his eyes. "Well, I can't really go anywhere now," he muttered. It was true; she was holding him around the waist so tight he couldn't move anywhere. He turned to look at her. "What do you want Garcia?"

Taking a deep breath, she murmured, "I'm sorry."

He blinked at her. "Seriously? Sorry? That's it?"

"Well, no," she said, slightly taken back by his abruptness. "What I want to say is –"

He held up his hand to halt her. "Just don't," he said with his eyes closed. "I'm not interested –"

She cut him off this time, but instead of using her hand, she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply. Her tongue stroked against his and when he started to respond, she felt her heart thump faster. Both his arms wrapped around her body and held her flush against him. She let out a moan and when she pulled back, she rested her forehead against his.

"I love you Derek Morgan," she whispered. "I love you so much, and the only reason I was being so stupid was because I thought you didn't love me. But that's my stupid head getting the better of me and when that happens I just start –"

He laughed. "Woman, stop running your motor mouth," he said. He nuzzled his face against her neck and kissed the soft skin there. "I love you too. Don't forget that. This may have started out as an act to get that wacko woman off my trail, but the reason I told her that you were the woman who stole my heart, because you are that woman."

Both of them were still holding each other when the hostess from the restaurant came up to them, a smirk on her face. In her hand was Penelope's purse. "Ma'am, you forgot your purse," she said snootily.

Taking it from her, she said, "Thank you."

"Will you two be coming back?" she asked hopefully, looking at Derek with her giant eyes.

He shook his head. "Eh, no…I have a better idea for our lunch."

XXXXX

"Wow! That was…incredible!" Penelope panted as she collapsed on top of Derek's bare chest. The two of them had spent their lunch at a four star hotel between the crisp linen sheets, both of them ending up sweaty and satisfied.

"Why didn't we do this years ago?" he gasped, kissing the top of her head as she looked down at him from on top of his chest.

"We should've," she said, snuggling against him more. They were both silent for a moment before she met his eyes again and asked, "You wanna go at it again?"

He chuckled before flipping her underneath him and kissing her passionately. "You know it," he said huskily.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**So here's the next chapter! Thank you guys for your wonderful reviews :) You rock and when I'm having the worst of days they make me smile when I get them in my inbox.**

"Your mother gave me a call this morning," Penelope murmured against Derek's bare chest after he'd gotten home from the team's latest case.

They had been gone an agonizing two weeks in Florida on a child kidnapping case. As soon as Derek had walked in the doorway of his house, she'd almost knocked him to the ground by ramming into him and kissing him all over. They hadn't even made it to the bedroom for their first round of fiery lovemaking of the evening.

"Oh?" he asked, tracing patterns on her upper arm. The two of them had finally made it to his bed and were in the process of taking a breather. "What'd she want to talk about?"

Turning over so she was lying on her belly, she rested her chin on his chest and looked directly into his amber eyes. "She was just wondering how you were doing," she murmured, running her fingers over his mocha skin. She added, "How _we_ are doing…"

Tweaking her nose, he gave her a lopsided grin. "And what did you tell her?" he asked huskily. "Did you spill all the juicy details of what we do? Like the weekend we borrowed Rossi's cabin and _re_-christened the whole place?"

Wrinkling her nose, she slapped him playfully. "Ew, gross," she said. "This is your _mother_ we're talking about. Not some other man who you're trying to one-up. I just told her things were going good."

"_Extremely_ good," he purred.

She bit her lip and nodded. She'd sure as hell hoped that's what he would say because the news she was about to deliver him would be awfully awkward if it was the opposite.

"That's good that you think that," she whispered. Suddenly she got very quiet . The two of them had only begun dating four short months ago. Their time together had been wonderful, but something like this would be…well, she would just have to with it and see.

He looked at her oddly. "Baby, everything okay?" He looked like he was afraid he'd done something wrong. He looked like he was afraid she was saying that she wanted to break up.

She nodded and sat up so she was sitting in front of him on her knees. She had the sheet pulled up around her chest. Now he was really looking at her strangely. In no way was she shy around him, but he loved her breasts so much he would likely be unable to focus on the topic at hand.

"Well," she breathed. "Everything is wonderful, but…"

He too sat up, rather abruptly. Cupping her cheek, he said, "Penelope, you're really worrying me. What's wrong?"

_Better just get this over with…_

"I'm – I'm pregnant, Derek," she blurted.

XXXXX

The moment the two words _I'm pregnant_ left Penelope's mouth, Derek's world stopped. His gaze just focused on her face and he tried to think.

He was going to be a daddy. He was getting the wish he'd had so long of seeing the love his life pregnant with his child. The prospect was almost too thrilling that he thought he might pass out. He was silent a long time, just absorbing the words and basking in the wonderfulness of it all. His Baby Girl carrying his baby!

Her lower lip quivered after he'd been silent for a long while. The moment tears left her eyes, he instantly realized she thought he was upset with her revelation.

"Sweetheart, don't cry," he pleaded, sitting forward to pull her body towards his. "Please don't cry when I'm the happiest I've ever been in my entire life."

Her mouth fell open. "You really mean that?" she gasped. "You think we're ready to be parents?"

Pulling her against him so their bodies were melded together, he kissed the delicate skin on her neck, then below her earlobe, then each eyelid. All the while he kept his hand on her abdomen, knowing exactly where his child was. "You bet we're ready," he grunted against her breasts which he'd moved on to. He ran his fingers under the sheet and pulled it down so that her breasts were bare and inches from his face. His hands ran under them and tested their weight before he drew his tongue over them. She gasped. "I love you, Penelope," he breathed. "And I love the baby growing inside you right now. More than words can say."

Penelope let out a gasp and wrapped her arms around his neck, forcing his head to dive between the valley of her breasts. They felt sensitive and every touch he bestowed on them felt like an electric bolt was being shot through her body. She let out a small yelp as he flipped her underneath his body and smiled up at him as the two of them began to make love.

XXXXX

The next morning as Penelope was walking into her office, she felt wonderfully sore. After she'd told Derek that she was pregnant, he'd spent the entire rest of the night making love to her in all shapes and forms. It was the most wonderfully beautiful night of her life. She managed to make it to her office without running into anyone who would for sure notice her walking funny, but she was truly out of luck when JJ decided to show up.

"Morning Garcie!" JJ said chirpily as she entered and plopped down in the spare chair. As Penelope sat down and a small wince crossed her face, JJ smirked. "Ooh, get some last night?" she asked, trying to contain her laugh. She was failing miserably and a shot of laughter left her lips.

Penelope glared at her. "Not funny, Jayje," she muttered. Then she bit her lip and smiled, "But yes…I got some last night. I also have some good news to tell you."

JJ sat back in her chair. "Oh, what news do you have?"

She put both hands on her abdomen and smiled. "Well…" She looked back up at JJ and grinned brilliantly. "I'm pregnant. I'm two months pregnant, JJ!" The look of happiness on her face could barely be contained. It lit up her eyes and she practically had an aura of delight glowing around her. There was something in JJ's face that stopped her though. Pausing, she said, "JJ? What's wrong?"

Her friend sighed. "Is this what you want? A baby with Derek?"

Penelope felt hurt. Like her friend didn't trust Derek…or worse, _her_. "Yes! Of course it's what I want. JJ, I love him. I want to spend the rest of my life with him and I want with all my heart to have this baby. Can you not see that?"

JJ gave another sigh. "Penelope, I just want you to be happy," she said. "And sometimes I worry about whether or not Derek could make you that way. Don't get me wrong, he and you are thick as thieves, but I worry that he might break your heart. I worry that –"

Tears filled Penelope's eyes; she couldn't stop them. "You worry that he doesn't love me," she murmured, interrupting JJ.

JJ shook her head. "No! Penelope, no! That's not what I meant!"

"Well, then what did you mean?" she snapped.

"Pen, please understand that I'm just trying to look out for you," she pleaded. "I just can't stand the thought of him hurting you. He does stupid things sometimes. What if he did something stupid that caused you pain? I wouldn't be able to deal with it because I wouldn't be able to stand you being hurt."

Shaking, she growled, "Derek won't hurt me. We're more than friends and lovers; we're a team. He's the father of my baby." She sighed before adding, "I know you mean well, Jayje. I really do. But Derek loves me; I don't doubt it. Neither should you."

JJ nodded once. "Then I won't," she said kindly.

XXXXX

Derek was on top of the world. All day he'd been whistling chipper tunes and smiling happily. Penelope was pregnant with his child. _His_ child. He could hardly believe it. No news had ever made him more ecstatic. It was nearing ten o'clock in the morning and he had a little bit of spare time, so he figured he would go and see her.

As he made his way down the hall, his eyes caught sight of a sight he wasn't happy about.

Kevin Lynch, stomping in the direction of Penelope's office, an angry scowl written all over his face.

**Hope you all enjoyed! Please review if you have the time :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Thanks for all the reviews guys! Here comes the whoop ass scene :) Enjoy and rejoice that Criminal Minds has been renewed for a ninth season!**

The abrupt opening of the door to her office made Penelope think it was Derek with some exciting news, but the moment she turned around her face fell. Kevin apparently deemed it appropriate to show up. She could practically feel the blood drain from her face. What could he possibly want from her?

"Er, hello Kevin," she said cautiously. "What's up? It's been a little while. How're you doing?"

"Cut the crap Penny," he snarled. "I've been meaning to get around to this, but I didn't think it would last very long. What the hell do you think you're doing with Derek Morgan? Do you really think he loves you? He's using you. Don't you see that?"

She glared at him. "What could you possibly know about how Derek feels about me?" she snapped. "We love each other. Why are you acting so jealous? You broke up with me, if you didn't remember correctly. There's no reason for you to be acting all territorially all of the sudden."

"He's not good for you, Penny," he hissed. "You'll never be happy with him. You can only be happy with _me_. We're meant to be together."

"If we were so meant to be together why the hell did you break up with me?" she asked with a roll of her eyes.

"I needed to take a break," he muttered lamely. "I was just in a bad place in my life and –"

She stood up to hiss and clenched her fists at her sides, "I've got news for you, Kevin, if there's absolutely nothing to get you to go away, I guess I'm going to just spill the beans…Derek's the father of my baby. He's not going anywhere, I'm not going anywhere. You're _never_ going to have another chance and it's your own fault."

His face contorted with rage. "You're having _Derek Morgan's _baby?" he snapped. "How the hell did that happen?"

"How did it happen?" she repeated incredulously. She let out a bark of laughter. "We're in love with each other. Deal with it."

"There's no way he's in love with you," he snickered like he was the objective holder of truth. "There are virtually no similarities between the two of you. He'll use you and dump you the way he dumps every other woman he fucks! Derek Morgan is nothing more than a whore-mongering scoundrel who will never be there for your baby. He'll leave you alone and you'll always wonder why you made the mistake of sleeping with him in the first place. And that _baby_ won't be any better."

She stepped closer to him and slapped him in the face. "You son of a bitch! How dare you insult my family? Where do you get the –"

Kevin grabbed both of her wrists in a bruising grip and yanked her roughly from desk and towards him. She winced. "Kevin, you're hurting me! Let go!"

"I never took you for a whorish piece of gar –"

"Get your fucking hands off of her!"

Behind him Derek had burst into the room and was stalking forward to grab Kevin by the back of the neck and throw him against the wall, placing his arm over his neck and hissing, "If you ever put your hands on her again, you'll regret ever being born. I swear to God you will. And when you decide to come near her again either, I'll kick your ass so hard you'll not be able to walk properly."

"Let go of me, you brute," Kevin snapped in a croaked voice. "Don't think I won't press charges for assault."

"I'll get you right back for it," he growled. "You ever touch the woman I love and you'll deal with the wrath of me!"

"And us," Rossi said harshly from the door. "I suggest you get your scummy ass out of here."

With a scowl on his face, Kevin stomped out of Penelope's office, his tail very clearly between his legs.

Once he was gone, Derek was at Penelope's side with her wrists pulled up to study the damage. Afterward, he pulled her into a crushing hug and kissed the side of her head. "Oh God," he murmured. "Thank God you're okay. Are you alright? Is there anything you need me to do? I can do something for you if you want? Do you need –"

She put a finger to his lips and smirked, "Hot Stuff. I'm fine. He just scared me is all. Don't you worry." She leaned over to the side and smiled at Rossi. "Thanks to you too Rossi."

He saluted her and smiled kindly. "You are very welcome, Kitten," he said. "Now, I think you're in good hands so I'm going to get lost."

Derek still had his arms around her waist and leaned his forehead against hers. "He's never getting near you again. I can't believe he thought he had a right to come in here and threaten you."

She smiled. "Well, he's not getting close to me ever again," she said huskily. "With my hot body guard I'll never have a problem again." She had a gleam in her eyes and she added, "And I have some news for you my cocoa butter ball."

Kissing every inch of her face, he laughed, "Oh? And what news would that be that you have?"

"I'm having twins."

**So it's a little short, but the epilogue is up next :) Again…PLEASE REVIEW!**


	9. Epilogue

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Sorry this stuff has been coming out so late! AP testing has been going on, but that's all done now :) So this little tale has come to an end with this segment being our epilogue. Thank you all very much for the reviews! I appreciate it a lot and hopefully my newest one will be up soon for your reading pleasure. I'm also working on finishing up my Psych/CM crossover so that should be wrapping up soon. Enjoy the epilogue :)**

_1 Year Later_

"Hey Baby Girl!" Derek called as he entered his house. He and the team had arrived back from a case that had lasted a week. It was almost six o'clock, early for the to be back. Their stand-in technical analyst was nowhere near the caliber of Penelope and made the work go much slower. He was counting down the days until his fiancée could come back to work. "I'm home! Where are you?"

"In the nursery, Hot Stuff," she called in a sing-song voice. "I've got two very hungry little girls who've missed their daddy!"

Derek grinned. He'd missed all three of his girls. Tossing his leather jacket onto the back of the living room sofa, he took the steps two at a time to get upstairs. He turned right into the nursery when he reached the top of the steps and grinned when he saw Penelope holding their daughter Danielle while her twin sister Piper was still in her crib. She was letting out a few gurgling noises and finally elicited a squeal when she saw her father.

"I need you to take Piper," Penelope directed, nodding in the direction of their other baby. She gave him a wink.

"Gladly, Mama," he said happily. He leaned in towards Piper's crib and scooped her up, cooing in the process. "How's one of my two princesses been?" he asked in a high-pitched voice, kissing his daughter's cheek. "Have you been good? I bet you've been good!"

Piper giggled and batted at his face with her little hands.

He kissed the top of her curly dark brown hair and rubbed her back gently. "What about Dani? How's your sister been?" From the corner of his eye he caught sight of Penelope watching him with a small smile on her face. Raising a brow, he asked, "What? What're you looking at me like that for?" He started bouncing Piper on his hip slightly. He was slightly curious as to the look on her face.

"You're just so wonderful with them," she murmured. "Do you want to trade off?"

Leaning down to plant a kiss on her lips, he nodded. "Sounds good." He took both his daughters in his arms to give Penelope a chance to take Piper from him while he kept Isabella. Dani gurgled up at him. Her little tongue poked out of her mouth and Derek tweaked her nose ever so slightly, kissing her forehead in the process. He couldn't have been more overjoyed with his two beautiful daughters. They were absolutely beautiful, just like their mother. He could hardly wait to marry Penelope, the mother of his children, the love of his life. The wedding was only a short month away and he'd never been more nervous or more excited in his life.

"Oh Baby," Penelope murmured, breaking his gaze with Dani. "You really are a wonderful father. Our babies are the most loved little girls in the entire world."

Yawning slightly, Derek sat down with Dani in the rocking chair and smiled up at his soon to be wife. "I love you," he said, his eyes twinkling in the process.

She smiled coyly at him. "Good," she whispered, planting a kiss on the top of Piper's head.

XXXXX

Around ten o'clock, Penelope cuddled up next to Derek on the living room couch and nuzzled her face in his neck. He was semi-dozing in front of the television, but the moment her nose touched the skin of his throat, he began waking up. Grinning lazily, he turned to look at her and teased her lips with his. "Hey there you," he said with a yawn.

"Is my poor baby tired?" she asked with a pout of her lips. "You're looking awfully tired."

His smile brightened. "With you around?" he asked. "Never. I'm _never_ tired when you're around. Or when you're looking as delicious as you are right now."

She smiled and sat up straighter. Her fingers went deftly to her blouse and she began to unbutton it ever so slowly until her lacy red bra was peeking out. His eyes started to bulge out of their sockets and his hands started for her chest. To his disappointment, she pushed them both back down and shook her head.

Biting her lip, she whispered huskily, "You can look but you can't touch, Handsome…not yet anyway." She leaned forward to kiss him, nipping at his bottom lip ever so slightly. "You will be able to touch me."

"When?" he asked in a strained voice. His mouth had begun to water from her now bare chest. She'd unclasped her bra and had draped it over the back of the couch. "God, baby. When can I touch you?" He was about ready to get down on his knees and beg for her to let him put his hands all over her milky white skin.

She was enjoying making him squirm. Lifting one of her legs, she straddled his hips and held his wrists against the back of the couch to keep him from getting to her. "Oh Hot Chocolate," she said, swiveling her hips across his lap. "You would not believe the things I'm going to let you do to me tonight…"

XXXXX

After their rendezvous on the living room couch, Penelope lay wrapped up in Derek's arms under one of his mother's flannel quilts that she'd given them. He kissed the top of her head and she giggled as his hands started to tickle her belly.

"Silly Hot Stuff," she giggled. "What are you up to?"

"Oh nothing," he said against her head. "Just playing with my wonderful soon to be wife."

She smirked. "Well then," she said. "Please continue." She was so blissfully happy at the moment. Nothing could keep her spirits down. In one short month she would be getting married to the love of her life. Everything was going so perfectly.

"What are you thinking about now, Gorgeous?" Derek murmured, tracing patterns on her bare arms. "You seem to be deep in thought about something."

"Oh, I'm just so excited for this wedding," she said with a happy sigh. "Can you believe that we started off 'fake dating' at one?" She let out an adorable laugh.

He laughed too and kissed her shoulder. "I love you so much, Baby Girl," he murmured. "You should know it was never fake dating for me. It's always been true love for me. Ever since I mistakenly called you 'Baby Girl' instead of Garcia."

She snuggled in closer to him. "I love you too, Handsome," she said. Abruptly clapping her hands together, she added, "Oh! And I forgot to tell you! Your mother called me today!"

"Oh?" he asked. "How's my Mama doing? Checking up on her grandbabies that she's want for so long?"

"Well yes," Penelope said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "She was wanting to check up on Dani and Piper…she also begged me to let her babysit when we go on our honeymoon."

"What'd you tell her?"

She snorted. "I told her 'of course!'" she laughed. "Mama Morgan always gets dibs on the babysitting."

"That she does," he said with a grin.

The cry of a baby startled her out of her happy daze and it changed to elated. Every moment she got to see her babies was a wonderful moment. Sighing, she started putting on her shirt again and pulled Derek up from the couch by grabbing his hand. "Let's go take care of our babies," she whispered lovingly.

Before they headed for the stairs, he kissed her deeply and cupped her cheek. "Yes," he said. "Let's."


End file.
